Shipping racks are frequently employed to protect the integrity of valuable products and components during transport from the manufacturer to the end user or customer. These products are placed on shipping racks and sometimes secured to these shipping racks and then potentially placed into a shipping container. Once the container has been received, the shipping racks are removed from the container and the products are either removed from the racks and placed into the end users storage system, or these same transport racks can potentially be used by the end user for storage and/or deployment in their facility. Empty racks are re-cycled back to the supplier for future product shipments. When large storage racks are to be moved to storage, they are usually strapped to wooden pallets in order to be moved with a forklift.
Traditionally, shipping racks are made from welded square structural steel or aluminum framing to provide strong support for heavy products. Since the construction materials are square and flat, shipping racks typically carry products that are flat or are only supported from flat ends.
A large curved product in need of structural support during transport may need individual and specialized packaging to be shipped safely and securely to the end user.